The coach reviews the final game of 2023

After the victory away to Portimonense SC, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim analysed the match and expressed that his side were worthy of the win.

“Apart from the offensive transitions, of which Portimonense SC had two, we were the better side, with the most shots, playing in the final third and trying to find solutions,” he told journalists at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão, before addressing the differences between the two halves of the game.

“The first half was more difficult, with Portimonense SC a fresher side, managing to fill all the gaps. We had to move the ball around and try to cross, but the opposition players were very tall. We also had two players in the area because we were expecting a very low block," he highlighted.

“In the second half, Portimonense SC had fatigue begin to set in. Marcus [Edwards] was able to turn on them and Paulinho made the breaks. We created chances, we scored and had the game under control, but we conceded an equaliser. We already knew about their danger from set pieces, and as we were without Seba and Inácio we also had Neto in the side for that reason… After that, we created chances again and could have scored more goals”, he said, before explaining the substitution of Pedro Gonçalves as being down to a foot problem and pain.

Reminded of the 2020/2021 season, in which the team also saw in the new year as outright leaders and became champions, Amorim emphasised that “they are different stories."